Five Things We Can’t Wait For At Electric Zoo 2013

Summer is flying by, which is bittersweet on one hand but totally amazing on the other. Why? Because it means that we’re getting closer and closer to Electric Zoo’s blowout fifth year. If you’re not up on your EZoo life, check out our official recap video from last year and see what you missed. Yeah — it was pretty killer. Fortunately, this year is already shaping up to be bigger and better than ever for many reasons, not least of which are:

1) Two mainstages (count ‘em, TWO) and an expanded festival site on Randall’s Island. More on that later.

2) A new 18 and up policy. Sorry, youths (#YOUTHS) of the world — I’m too old for your shenanigans and look forward to mingling with an older and wiser crowd. *Wheezes; testily gestures for you to GET OFF MY LAWN.*

3) A totally killer lineup — which is par for the course by EZoo’s standards. There’s lots to be excited about here, but we’ve come up with five things that we’re especially stoked for. Check ‘em out after the jump.

1) Reliably Good Sets From The Big Guys
Festivals are reassuring sometimes — and in a weird way, a little bit like coming home. There’s a certain predictability to them which at times can get tedious (“ugh, why is this water line so long and why is everyone wearing a HAVE U SEEN MOLLY t-shirt?”) — but that same predictability factor can also be kind of amazing. It’s the feeling of “Yep. Here we are. Sun’s setting over the New York skyline and everyone in my group of friends is assembled and a song we all know is playing.” It’s a feeling you only get at festivals when things are about to get especially serious, and the fact that you may already know what’s about to happen next makes it even more incredible. For me, I know with total certainty that I’ll get that feeling at Above & Beyond, Bassnectar, Boys Noize and Armin van Buuren (potentially cataclysmic lineup conflicts aside). That group is my old guard, and no matter how many times Above & Beyond shamelessly drops “Satellite,” I’ll lose it completely when those familiar leads kick in. Everyone has their cabal of must-sees among the headliners — that group of artists you’ve followed for years, whom you’ve traveled hundreds of miles to see in the past, whose music will always be your soundtrack — and there’s no better place than a festival to check in with them and see what’s good. Gotta be hollering at your squad.

2) House, Deep House, Tech House, And Even More House After That
Gesaffelstein and Brodinski are slotted for a b2b headlining set. I meannnnn. You would be crazy to miss this (actually, scratch that — please miss it so that I have more space to wile out on the dance floor) because it is sure to be one of the most intense and fascinating sets of the weekend. In other news, the ‘Grove will obviously be holding it down for the house heads, thanks to big sets from veterans like Danny Tenaglia, John Digweed, Green Velvet and Laurent Garnier — but let’s not forget about the ladies: Cassy and Nicole Moudaber — and Bondax, a duo we are particularly excited to check out. No Maya Jane Coles this year, unfortunately, but EZoo always packs enough talented and seasoned underground darlings into their lineup to ensure that plenty of the weekend will be spent getting deep and serious.

3) Trance-a Make Her Dance
In addition to the triad of festival mainstays that is Armin/Ferry Corsten/Markus Schulz, Electric Zoo’s 2013 lineup boasts Myon & Shane 54, Kyau & Albert, Orjan Nilsen and awesome newbie KhoMha. Even better? Rare appearances from John O’Callaghan and Aly & Fila, who will be serving up the higher bpms and keeping your heart rates jacked for the duration of their sets. For those of you who like your trance with a side of electro, be sure to hit Tritonal, W&W, Mat Zo, and of course formidable young gun Audien.

4) The Freshman Class of 2013
Alex Metric, Kill Paris, Dyro, Henrix, Fehrplay, Walden, Vicetone, Torro Torro, The M Machine (can we really still put The M Machine in this bucket? They’re definitely too big now — but they’re awesome and still deserve mention. For being awesome). This diverse crew of up-and-comers may span a variety of genres, but they do have one major thing in common: they’re some of the freshest meat in the game. You’ve heard them in your car, you’ve ripped their music from Soundcloud, and you’ve followed their exploits on Twitter — now that they’ve made it to festival status, we highly recommend arriving early so that you can see what they’re made of live.

5) The OWSLA-Boys Noize Records Axis of Awesome
It’s no secret that Skrillex and Boys Noize have mad love for each other, man. It’s also no secret that great things happen when they team up. That’s why we’re excited not only for their headlining Dog Blood set, but for the mayhem that is guaranteed to go down when OWSLA and BNR take over the Riverside tent on Friday. I don’t even need to go through the lineup – from KOAN Sound to SCNTST to Skream to Birdy Nam Nam, every single act will bring the vibes.

Electric Zoo runs from August 30 – September 1 on Randall’s Island in New York City. For ticketing, lineup info, and logistical details, click here.